Why did Hvorostovsky leave his first wife? Hvorostovsky's ex-wife, who tormented him with endless infidelities, died of blood poisoning

Just over a month ago, on the night of October 11, the world was shocked by the news of the death of the famous baritone. Tragic messages, condolences and memories poured in. A few hours later, everyone breathed a sigh of relief: Hvorostovsky’s wife Florence denied her husband’s death, saying that he was fine, and cursed those who spread this lie. Nevertheless, everyone understood that the musician was terminally ill and terrible things could happen at any moment.

"I had to go back"

Everyone learned about the singer’s struggle with cancer in the summer of 2015, when he canceled a series of concerts due to chemotherapy. Nevertheless, time after time he found the strength to perform as best he could. He did not cancel his famous May 9 concerts with songs from the war years either in 2016 or 2017. In December 2016, Hvorostovsky was supposed to participate in the premiere Bolshoi Theater in the opera "Don Carlos", but the performance had to be cancelled.

On May 27, Hvorostovsky performed at the City Day celebrations in St. Petersburg. A last time in Russia, Hvorostovsky sang on June 2, 2017 - and not just anywhere, but in his native Krasnoyarsk. He had broken his shoulder shortly before, but that didn't stop him. He went on stage with his hand bandaged, and the audience greeted him standing. He tried to joke, but after he last words Before leaving the stage, the audience could not hold back their tears. Everyone understood what these words cost Hvorostovsky, which became his last performance on his native soil.

I had to go back. Because I love you, because this is my hometown

Dmitry Hvorostovsky

On September 26, he was supposed to perform in the Great Hall of the Conservatory in Moscow, but the concert had to be cancelled.

Two women and two opposites

Everyone remembers Dmitry Hvorostovsky as a happy family man, next to whom was his beautiful wife Florence Illy-Hvorostovskaya (half French, half Italian), with whom they lived for more than 17 years and who bore him two children. She left her opera career to devote herself entirely to her family. Perhaps it was thanks to the support of his wife that the singer managed to fight for so long fatal disease, without losing heart and going on stage until the last.

But Hvorostovsky was not always so happy. The musician's first marriage almost ended in alcoholism and sucked all the juice out of the man.

In 1989, 24-year-old Dmitry Hvorostovsky met the ballerina of the corps de ballet of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater, Svetlana Ivanova. The windy blonde beauty turned her head to the young singer. Neither the fact that the girl was three years older than him, nor the presence of a daughter from his first marriage bothered the musician. He firmly decided to marry her, which he did. In 1991 the wedding took place. However, the happiness of the spouses was short-lived: Svetlana began to cheat on him, but Hvorostovsky noticed this only when he caught her red-handed. The story is as old as time: he came home one day and his wife was in bed with his own friend. They say that Hvorostovsky could not contain his anger and beat them both, for which he almost went to jail.

Nevertheless, he soon reconciled with his wife, and in 1994 he moved to live with her in London. Svetlana gave birth to twins to her husband in 1996, but the children did not bring happiness to their marriage. They lived abroad in marriage for five years, and in 1999 they divorced.

The divorce cost Dmitry Hvorostovsky his health and big money. The woman began to demand huge benefits and sued for it for many years. As a result, a London court in 2009 ordered Hvorostovsky to pay ex-wife£195 thousand annually. The result of all these showdowns for the singer was a stomach ulcer. He became addicted to alcohol.

It all started with a kiss

Photo © L!FE/Marat Abulkhatin

In the year of his divorce from his first wife, 37-year-old Dmitry Hvorostovsky came to the Geneva Opera to perform the role of Don Giovanni in a local opera. His partner was 29-year-old Florence Illy. According to the script, they had a hot kiss on stage, from which it all began. The couple later recalled that it was love at first kiss.

It was hard for Dmitry to think that his life was hanging by a thread from death. With such a serious diagnosis, you shouldn’t be nervous, because any mood swings can affect general condition bodies.

goodhouse.ru

When his first wife found out about the illness, she immediately dialed his number. The couple talked, but not for long, as they disliked each other. No one thought that this would be their last conversation. A 56-year-old woman died on New Year's Eve 2016.

instagram.com/hvorostovsky

Tamara Grida, Dmitry's friend, suggested the death of his wife. She reported that Svetlana fell ill with meningitis, but received almost no treatment. The advanced disease led to sepsis (blood poisoning). The disease overcame her in just a couple of days. If she had immediately taken the right measures, she might now be living and taking care of her children. She was buried in London at Highgate Cemetery, where only her closest relatives were present.

Dmitry and Svetlana met in 1986, then she was a ballerina. They lived together for about 10 years, but their happiness was prevented by Svetlana’s betrayal. She had everything, but what guided her when she left home for other men is unknown. Due to constant scandals with his wife, Hvorostovsky developed an ulcer, he began to abuse alcohol and drown his grief in it. Later, Dmitry, thanks to his friends, was able to pull himself together. But now he communicated with Svetlana only through lawyers.

It is worth noting that it was unpleasant for him to even talk to her. The artist appeared on stage less and less often - he developed serious memory lapses. Perhaps this was the first signal that something was wrong with the brain. His wife’s infidelity and alcohol could well have caused Hvorostovsky’s cancer. The couple divorced. According to the court decision, Dmitry paid his ex-wife 17 million rubles every year.

Antonov says that Dmitry was kind person, loved life, helped everyone. He left his ex-wife and children a house in one of the most best areas London - Islington. He paid monthly, in addition to 17 million, alimony for their common twin children Alexander and Danila. To be honest, he could not communicate calmly with her. In addition, she did not allow us to see the children and in every possible way prevented them from meeting. Even with her daughter Maria, who was born from Svetlana’s first marriage, the ex-wife did not allow her to communicate.

Dmitry loved all children equally, so he did not want them to need anything. But fate decreed otherwise. The children lost not only their mother, but also their father. Hvorostovsky bravely fought brain cancer, but the disease overcame him. The prayers of his loved ones did not help him either.

instagram.com/flosha1

But just recently Hvorostovsky told everyone that he was getting better, he was grateful for the sincere words of support.

The country cannot come to terms with such a loss; he was the idol of millions. The whole world listened to his concerts. He was a genius man. His profession, thoughts, environment - everything was wonderful.

It's a shame that we lost a real treasure. But he will remain in memory and hearts forever.

October 16 opera singer Dmitry Hvorostovsky celebrates his 53rd birthday. During his career he performed at the most famous venues - opera houses Berlin State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Teatro alla Scala... Dmitry's voice captivated millions of people around the globe, and People magazine named him one of the most beautiful people peace.

However, this year has been difficult for the singer - He . Now, fortunately, he has returned to the stage again. In honor of Dmitry Hvorostovsky's birthday, we have collected nine facts from his biography that will undoubtedly surprise you.

1. Dmitry does yoga

In June of this year: doctors discovered Dmitry had a brain tumor. Hvorostovsky had to. The whole world was worried about him - fans bombarded the singer with emails wishing him good health, friends and colleagues offered any help, and his wife did not leave his side.

Dmitry did not despair and tried to force himself to do at least something, although he endured a complex of difficult procedures and sometimes could hardly even get out of bed.

According to Hvorostovsky’s father, during these difficult days the singer began to master yoga. She helped him relieve the pain. Every morning, despite his illness, he began the day with classes at gym. And even before his illness, the singer began winter swimming - swimming in an ice hole.

During treatment for cancer, Dmitry became interested in yoga

2. He doesn't have a car license.

As the singer’s father said in an interview, Hvorostovsky does not have a driving license. He's too impulsive for that.

So the man prefers to take a taxi.

Dmitry Hvorostovsky and his wife Florence Illy

3. Dmitry is an introvert

Despite the fact that the singer's profession requires publicity, Dmitry is an introvert. In an interview, he admitted that he experiences physical discomfort in public places. Apparently this does not apply to performances...

In ordinary life, the singer likes to hide from people and spend time in a small company of close friends.

A singer on stage in the company of his colleague Khibla Gerzmava

4. The singer loves adrenaline

Dmitry is a big fan of extreme sports. For example, he jumped with a parachute. His wife Florence did not appreciate this hobby. She went with the singer to the jumping area, but waited below while he jumped.

The first time Dmitry jumped in tandem - with an instructor. Now, he admits, he wants to repeat the jump on his own.

Adrenaline for a man is a necessity. This is an opportunity to establish yourself in your own eyes! Not to tell my friends: what a macho I am... Moreover, since childhood I was afraid of heights and continue to be afraid of them. But these jumps somehow solve my problems

Dmitry Hvorostovsky

opera singer

Dmitry also wants to fly on a supersonic plane and sink to the seabed.

Dmitry loves extreme sports

5. He is the father of four children

Dmitry Hvorostovsky was married twice. With his first wife, Svetlana, former ballerina, he signed in 1989. Seven years later, the couple had twins - Alexander and Daniel. The lovers were married for 15 years, but divorced in 2001.

The second wife of the opera singer was a performer with Italian and French roots, Florence Illy. In 2003, the couple had a son, Maxim, and in 2007, a daughter, Nina. It is interesting that Dmitry speaks only Russian with children. He wants this language to be their first. Florence sometimes speaks French to the children, but says that their eldest son Maxim speaks excellent Russian - even without an accent.

The second wife, Florence Illy, gave birth to Dmitry two children

6. Hvorostovsky came up with a funny nickname for his second wife

Dmitry met Florence Illy in Geneva, where they both sang Don Juan. The girl says that, like Hvorostovsky, she reluctantly agreed to participate in this production. But the performance turned out to be fateful: the performers met on stage and were never separated again. It’s interesting that Dmitry now calls his wife Florence nothing more than... Flosha.

The singer came up with a nickname for his wife when he first confessed his love to her. He spoke at this important point in Russian, and Florence did not understand everything, but, by her own admission, she “grabbed the main thing.”

Now the girl, by the way, speaks excellent Russian and is keenly interested in Russian culture. The singer also introduced his wife to Russian cuisine: he taught her to cook Siberian dumplings, cook cabbage soup and borscht. “Once, somewhere on tour, he and I made a hundred dumplings for ourselves and our friends,” laughs Florence (aka Flosha).

According to reports from relatives of the famous baritone, he left his life in agony. Thus, composer and producer Igor Krutoy said that he called the performer a few days before his death. As a friend of Hvorostovsky said, he could barely speak - the illness took away his world-famous voice from the singer. “If you die in full consciousness, it’s terrible,” said Krutoy.

ON THE TOPIC

Hvorostovsky left behind four children. The two eldest are from his first marriage. ex-wife Dmitry died after a painful illness two years ago, on December 31, 2015. Svetlana Hvorostovskaya, a former ballerina of the Krasnoyarsk Theater, burned to death in just a few weeks. She was diagnosed with meningitis, but did not take the disease seriously enough.

Over time, the inflammation turned into blood poisoning - sepsis, which killed the 56-year-old woman. Shortly before her death, she spoke with Dmitry for the first and last time since the divorce, when she learned about his terrible diagnosis.

Svetlana married the singer in 1991. Hvorostovsky proposed to her after four years of dating. This was the first marriage for the famous singer. The future spouses met backstage at the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater, where Svetlana performed as a corps de ballet dancer, and Dmitry began his path to world fame.

The singer’s love was so strong that he was not embarrassed by the fact that his chosen one had a daughter from his first marriage. Hvorostovsky adopted a child, and five years after the wedding, Svetlana gave her husband twins Alexander and Daniel.

They separated in 1999. According to the singer’s friend, the reason for the breakup was Svetlana’s betrayal. After the divorce, the former spouses communicated only through lawyers. Seven years ago, the mother of Hvorostovsky’s children through the court obtained an increase in alimony from the singer. He had to pay ex-wife more than 17 million rubles per year.

Dmitry was having a hard time with the divorce. He began to experience depression and heavy drinking. Hvorostovsky said more than once that the threat to sing was not opera stage, but perhaps at a table laden with bottles was real. It was then that his first problems with brain function began: the baritone admitted that he had memory lapses.

website. noted that there is something in common in the deaths of the Hvorostovskys. Both were extraordinary personalities - an opera singer and a ballerina who met backstage at the theater. Both died after terrible illnesses almost two years apart. Both suffered greatly before their deaths. Maybe Svetlana Hvorostovskaya called her husband to her?

Margarita ONDIVAN

According to friends, the famous singer’s first wife walked left and right

Dmitry HVOROSTOVSKY is a great baritone who glorified Russia throughout the world. A handsome man, a favorite of all women, a friend of Placido DOMINGO, the late Luciano PAVAROTTI, Anna NETREBKO, Igor KRUTOY. In this life he received everything that an opera singer could dream of: fame, wealth, four children, invitations to sing in the best opera houses. globe, a young beautiful wife. But he has another dream: to sing Othello in VERDI's opera! Why Othello? Because Dmitry knows firsthand about ardent love and mad jealousy.

Dmitry Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk in a family where opera music was played on records from childhood. His father Alexander Stepanovich, a chemical engineer by training, after work all free time played music on the piano. This passion and love for music was passed on to Dmitry. After school, he entered the Gorky Pedagogical College in the choir department. And then I decided to go to the Institute of Arts for a course as an Honored Vocal Teacher Ekaterina Yofel. In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, everyone knows: if you want to learn to sing well and correctly, you need to go to “Grandma Yofel.”

Voice production

When Dima came to me after the choir department, - 90-year-old Ekaterina Konstantinovna recalls with love in her voice, - and asked to take me to his class, I refused him, because I was overloaded - I had the first graduating class of my students. And then everyone started asking for him! And Dima’s parents persuaded me, and his teachers from the pedagogical school, and my old friend the piano tuner. In general, I gave in and we started studying. I began to correct him. He got excited: “So, I can’t do anything?!” And I said to him: “Where is the voice coming from?” At the beginning of the third year there was already significant progress. Just imagine: he stood at the piano, and I sat down at the other end of the class - and all I needed was one glance for him to understand me and do the right thing! Then he was invited to perform with a symphony orchestra.
- And now he sings well, in your opinion?
- Now his talent is fully manifested, and what I see on TV on Saturdays, in my opinion, sounds very worthy: he has not lost his skills! This is certainly a talented person, obsessed with singing and music.
- Who taught him artistry? I watched his master class, and there he didn’t teach vocalists how to shape their sound, but taught them how to act...
“I told him from the first day that you can’t make sounds that don’t mean anything.” Nobody needs a singer who sings just sounds! You need to sing feelings, you need to sing music. By the way, we learned to sing these feelings, including songs from the war years. From which he later made a whole program.
- Did he thank you with some kind of generous gift?
- What are you doing? I always told students before the holidays: only one flower from the whole class - no more!
- Are you communicating now? He used to call you all the time...
- It seemed to me that he was offended by me. I somehow didn’t congratulate him on his birthday - I felt very bad. But he didn’t congratulate me in return. So they stopped calling each other...
Hvorostovsky was a third-year student at the Institute of Arts when he was invited to the Opera and Ballet Theater to play the role of Vanya Zemnukhov in The Young Guard. Dmitry performed only three small parts, then he was immediately transferred to the main roles - in the operas “Eugene Onegin”, “Rigoletto”, “La Traviata”, “Pagliacci”. Then the People's Artist of Russia became his partner, and then his close friend Larisa Marzoeva.

Dima came to us as a young boy,” Larisa Vladimirovna recalls very touchingly, “and at first he was very shy at rehearsals. Well, imagine, I’m 13 years older than him, and in “Rigoletto” we have to play love scenes. And I simply told him: “Dima, imagine that I am not me, and you are not you, and we are playing our characters.” And he quickly rebuilt himself, reincarnated. That's just a little help from me and my husband, also a baritone Georgy Motinov. Even then we all understood that Dima was so passionate about his profession that he would go very far and would not stay long in our provincial theater.
- How did he behave, after all, he’s a newcomer, and there are masters around him?
“He always behaved with dignity, was independent, knew his worth and did not let everyone get close to him. And this is correct, because there are plenty of skeptics in the theater. We had one, I won’t name him, let’s say Petrov. He kept grumbling and grumbling in Dima's direction. And he “took revenge.” Once, my husband and I were leaving late at night after celebrating the premiere, and the singer who lived in our house shouted loudly and loudly towards the window: “Petrov, are you sleeping? Petrov! It is clear that he woke up...
Many people say: he’s arrogant. But when he arrives in Krasnoyarsk, and my husband and I meet him in the Niva, he calmly gets into it. And it’s also very funny to see how, as soon as a plane lands in Krasnoyarsk, it gets out and starts inhaling loudly. “Dima, what are you doing, everything is polluted,” we tell him. “It doesn’t matter how much I love this native air!” - speaks. He knows how to truly be friends with people close to him. When he left for Moscow, he gave his entire rich music library to a tenor friend.
- They say there was such an accompanist, Rekha Dravina, who loved him very much...
- Yes, she was a very good pianist, we called her “perpetuum mobile” - she had so much energy. And it seems to me that she strangled him a little with this energy, so they parted...

Spicy lady

It is behind the scenes of the theater that Hvorostovsky meets the corps de ballet dancer - the beauty Svetlana Ivanova- and falls passionately in love with her. He is not even embarrassed by the fact that she is a divorcee with a child. Moreover, she lives with her ex-husband, a musician, in the same apartment, but in different rooms! Only two years after they met, Dmitry will move his beloved to his own room in a communal apartment, and a year later he will marry her. But no one from his circle approved of this marriage.
“When he told me about his intentions,” sighs Ekaterina Yofel, “I told him: “If you marry her, you will forget how the door to my class opens!” Why did I react this way? Yes, because conductors came to me and told me: “She’s so melting, she sleeps with everyone! Moreover, both with aunties and with men! Everyone was worried: why did Dimochka contact her? So I told him. He ran out of the class, freaked out, then came back and knelt down: “Forgive me! Can I get married when I finish my studies?” “We’ll live until Monday,” I replied. He fell in love with her because he was still inexperienced! No, he didn’t fall in love! He was just doing art, not women, and this prostitute worked him over!
Thank God, now Dima has found himself a decent one. We came here together, he said: “I’ll introduce you to Flo.” And I told him: “What other bullshit?!” He wanted me to teach her to sing. Florence is so pretty, smart, well-mannered. I suggested to her: come, live with me, I’ll teach you everything. But she refused.
“This is all nonsense that they say about her,” defends Hvorostovsky’s first wife, the head of the ballet troupe of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater. Lyudmila Shchapina. - Svetochka was very interesting girl, such a whole figurine with slanted eyes- a very spicy person! A needlewoman, she knew how to do everything! Since Dima chose her, it means there was something in her. After all, there was a line of girls behind him - how to walk through the foyer - handsome, sporty, gallant - how to resist! Yes, he liked brunettes, but he married a blonde. Big love, that means it was. And I can say that for him there were no other women except Sveta - he carried her in his arms, showered her with bouquets of flowers. How his accompanist Rekha Dravina was in love with Dima - a burning brunette, Jewish - she idolized him! If he had chosen her, he would have had everything, the whole world would have been at his feet: she was just about to emigrate to America, where she had great connections in musical world. But Dima - real man, not a careerist.
I remember the ballet dancers and I were on tour in Chita, and Svetochka came running to me and said: “Dimka won a gold medal at the competition! I just called and said: “Well, mother, let’s get married!” And she rejoices, dances, and glows all with happiness!
In general, Dima is a real gentleman. He recently came up to me backstage and took my hands in his: “Lyudochka, my little hands are getting fatter, you can’t, you can’t!” This is his hint that I should keep in shape...

Bitter betrayal

Dima did not pay attention to the rumors about his beloved: for him she was the sweetest and most desirable. But one day what he saw turned out to be more eloquent than words!
“Dima decided to give his wife a surprise and came home from the tour without warning,” a dancer from the ballet troupe of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater told Express Newspaper. Andrey Satuev. There he found an intimate scene in which his beloved and another man played the main roles. Hvorostovsky, in a rage, beat both of them so much that it was not enough. The man had two broken ribs, and Sveta had his ovaries completely knocked off. That’s why she couldn’t give birth for so long and had to undergo treatment. And in London, he had already “bought” children for her: they did a transplant and the twins were born. Do you know who he found Sveta with? With your own best friend- also a dancer in a ballet troupe... In the end they wanted to open a criminal case, but Hvorostovsky, of course, was cleared away. I stood up for him opera singer Irina Arkhipova. It could not have happened without the assistance of the top officials of the state, because even then, after his victory in International competition singers in the Scottish city of Cardiff, they bet on him. And such a scandal could put an end to his career.
Be that as it may, the couple forgave each other and left for London. But even the twins Alexandra and Danila, born in 1996, did not mend the cracked vase of relationships. Life abroad was still not easy for the Russian, albeit talented, baritone.
- Everyone thinks that Dima is very rich. And he himself told me,” recalls Larisa Marzoeva, “that there were times abroad when there was not enough money even for bread!”
- Larisa Vladimirovna, why did they divorce?
- Well, how can we know? I’ll just say that Dimochka himself sometimes complained to me that Svetlana didn’t teach English language. He wanted to make her his director, but she only understands English, but cannot speak. And I’ll also add that, after all, his Florence is a great guy! No matter what, take the children under your arm and follow your husband - after all, he accompanies him everywhere! And rightly so! If you are married to such a great singer, you must completely devote your life to him. So Flosha does this... I remember they were visiting us, it was only the first year of their marriage: we communicate, remember old times, laugh, Flosha just bats her eyes. And a year later we arrived, and she was already speaking Russian with all her might!

Smart girl, what can I say...

“How do we know what happened between them,” Lyudmila Shchapova is also sad, “they broke up because she, apparently, like him, did not develop.” Dima constantly moved forward, progressed, but Svetochka, apparently, stopped at some point... You have to be able to match such a husband.

Seduced and married

Dmitry Hvorostovsky himself admitted more than once in interviews that at some point he began to relax with the help of alcohol, but it was Florence who brought sobriety, light, romance, and tenderness back into his life. He met her three years after the birth of his twins - in 1999. Dima was supposed to perform the part of Don Juan at the Geneva Theater. And Florence, a pianist and singer, played one of his mistresses, with whom, according to the script, he kissed on the lips. The fiery brunette suddenly began to actively pursue the Russian baritone, although Dima immediately told her that he was married and had two children. "So what?" - Flo didn’t raise an eyebrow. Dmitry resisted for a long time, pretending that she didn’t bother him at all. But how can you refuse a persistent and loving beauty? Dmitry also fell in love. They have been together for more than ten years and are raising two charming children, Nina and Maxim. Florence not only learned spoken Russian, but also read everything in the original Dostoevsky And Chekhov.
The divorce from his first strongest love, the mother of his two children, Svetlana, was very difficult. She, of course, did not expect that her eternally faithful and devoted Dimochka would be taken away. Therefore, during the division of property, she took everything for herself: house, apartment, cars and 170 thousand pounds sterling a year for maintenance. Moreover, out of resentment and jealousy, she stopped all communication with him. Hvorostovsky developed an ulcer from the stress he experienced. Ten years after the divorce, Svetlana again sued ex-husband, demanding, in connection with his increased income, to increase her annual allowance. Now Hvorostovsky is paying ex-family twice as much as before, namely 340 thousand pounds sterling - that’s just over 17 million rubles a year. According to the terms of the contract, Hvorostovsky would stop paying for her maintenance if she remarried.